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Ozrider wrote:Seen as all the infrastructure is in place for all the major tours, it would be great to see women's races. Just start them 15 min after the men, and the spectators get a double race to watch. All yo unneeded is a few more police and convoy vehicles. All the roads are already closed, routes marked, etc. VIP tents, food, spectator areas and big crowds are already in place. http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/13806 ... Under.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They do that for amateur road races too. I remember a road race I did last year there were at least four or five fields on the same course at the same time (which was about a 50k loop). Some fields only did a lap or two, while the more advanced categories did several.

The only problem was that the course was open to traffic (not closed by police) and made the climbing part of the course a nightmare - imagine 100+ riders on a narrow two lane road, and the faster riders wanting to pass within the lane (going over the oncoming lane is a disqualification), AND blind spots and cars wanting to pass both ways. Of course if it was a gigantic professional race the roads would be closed and there would be minimal problems.

Women's races are already being organized at the same time on same roads as men's races. One example being the Tour of Flanders. Major tours on the other hand...might be a tad more complicated and take much more additional resources than what first appears. I'm not saying that this cannot be done...

The women's version earlier is already done at Flanders and I think Amstel Gold as well. I think for one day classics it makes a ton of sense. For Grand Tours I think it'd be a lot harder for both organizers and I don't think the spectacle would be that great. Maybe just replicate the last week of a GT for both the men and women?

edit- best event round my parts is the Tour de L'Ain cyclosportive version where we do the same stages as the pros every day, we just start around 9 and the pros around 11 or so. The route tends to use fairly quiet roads and it's a pretty quiet department in general, but it works with full road closures and all.

It's not very well known outside of this area but if you want to come and do something a bit interesting, I highly recommend it....

Regarding ladies racing after the men.I can't recall any sort of event where the main event is not the last in the queue...So ladies finishing later than men is maybe not a best idea.Also, after the finish it's replays, podium, interviews, etc, so except for their last km, what else would we see?

Gilbert's bike on Cyclingnews...Seems like James got a bit testy at the end.

"Another common pro trend perpetuated here is the undersized frame. Despite standing 1.83m (6' 0") tall, Gilbert rides a rather diminutive 50cm frame with a 535mm effective top tube length – something no fitter in their right mind would do for a typical cyclist of the same height.

As usual, though, it's all about head tube length for these guys and in this case, the top of Gilbert's bars sit more than 12cm below the top of his saddle. To get the reach he wants, Gilbert then has to run a 140mm-long stem slammed atop the headset.

Sure, the extreme position looks way cool and the 'SLAMYOURSTEM' kids would worship the ground you roll on. But let's be realistic here – you're not Philippe Gilbert and twice-daily Ashtanga yoga sessions and a closet full of Lululemon probably isn't going to get you there, either. But if you're 1.83m tall with a rockin' Euro fauxhawk and still think you can pull this off, go on and try – we dare you.

Let us know how things went after your resultant chiropractor appointment."

I made the same conclusion to a friend of mine this weekend. It looks like all of the BMC guys did this. The picture of Blythe comes to mind. Wonder...Other than what James is saying, what is the main reason. I too went down a size on my bike this season and so far so good.

There is no way Gilbert is 6' tall. I have always seen him listed as 5'10" (1,79 m) which seems more plausible to me.

Also, I noticed that Gilbert's saddle height from the CN article is listed as 75.1 cm center of BB to top of saddle, and the reach is listed as 58.1 cm from tip of saddle to center of handlebar. Looking at my database, another publication from 2011 (didn't write down who, unfortunately) had his saddle height at 78 cm and his reach at 58.7 cm. So either Gilbert lowered his saddle down quite a bit, or someone didn't measure right (I can see the saddle being a bit lower early in the season, but wouldn't expect that much).

James came across as a jealous idiot at the end of that "article." Doesnt seem to know much about fit and positioning. Anyone still spewing the "these guys are way more flexible than you" is out of touch.

hasbeen - I think you may be right, I have argued that point for years. "It can't be comfortable." BULL SH--! YOu dont ride and race for 6 plus hours without having some measure of comfort! "They are more flexible." Again BULL SH--! I have also read articles that stated the exact opposite.

If you look at the way Gilberts bike is set up, it reminds me of how Colnagos were set up in the past, the thought was to get the bike under you, to handle like a race car.